Dacia had sold just over 1000 bi-fuel versions of the Duster and Sandero by the end of October
Pump network for liquefied petroleum gas in Britain is only a quarter of what it was at its peak
Dacia CEO Denis Le Vot is surprised that low-cost LPG fuel isn’t more popular in the UK, as British buyers are “meant to be super pragmatic”.
Le Vot confirmed to Autocar that Dacia will continue to offer LPG options in its models – the only car maker to still do so out of the factory – and said it’s at a loss to explain why the fuel isn’t as popular in the UK as in other European markets.
The LPG pump network in Britain is only a quarter of what it was at its peak, in the 2000s, but still the fuel is typically a third cheaper per litre than petrol.
By the end of October, Dacia had sold just over 1000 Bi-Fuel versions of the Sandero and Duster, but sales are declining. Just under 4000 LPG models were sold in 2022 and around 2700 in 2023.
Le Vot said that in some markets, including Italy, LPG sales were around half of the model mix. Poland, Romania, France and Spain are other markets where LPG is still a big player.
In France, the value is “incredible”, said Le Vot, as LPG is around half the cost per litre of petrol.
Offering LPG options in the UK brings no extra cost to Dacia, said Le Vot, as “the fact it exists makes it available”.
While he said he could pull the Bi-Fuel option from the UK market, he said it “would be a mistake to do so”.
More broadly on the UK market, Le Vot said that “pragmatism must prevail in the end” in light of the government’s decision to review the ZEV mandate, which forces car makers to sell a set number of electric cars proportionate to their overall sales or face huge fines.
“In no way are we challenging the final destination,” he said. “The final destination is zero emissions. We have to continue working, and we will, but I think that at the same time, we have to be pragmatic.”
Le Vot confirmed an electric version of the Sandero was on track for a 2027 launch as part of that car’s next generation, and that in time electric versions of the Jogger and Duster would follow as part of a phased approach to launching EVs.
The Spring, Dacia’s first electric car, is built in China and has a threat of tariffs hanging over it as part of the EU’s plans to slow the flow of low-cost EVs coming from China, but for now Le Vot said there are no plans to move production.
Speaking on the competition from Chinese car makers in general and their ability to potentially undercut Dacia with better-equipped models, Le Vot said Dacia was “not ignorant to the content” of Chinese cars but would not waiver in its approach to counteract them.
“It is important to understand the philosophy of the market and what the market needs,” he said in relation to Chinese cars being sold in Europe.
“So when you come with wildly overspecced cars, there is a lot of money that you put on the market for nothing,” in terms of all that equipment having a cost.
“This may become a problem when you begin to manufacture the cars locally. You have to leverage where the market stands. It is very hard [to compete], but you just have to be stubborn.”
Le Vot said Dacia would continue to be able to control costs and have low prices by building cars in its own way: set a price at the start for retail, take profit margins out of that and then “split the rest into pieces, and we give a budget to every part of the car”.
“Only then we start interaction between our engineering, design and suppliers. It may look logical, but it is not the way people do the car usually.
“Usually people design the car that they want. ‘Let’s make it big. Let’s make it wide. Let’s make it round. Let’s make it whatever size of the wheels and the power of the engine.’ And then they would design the parts from this, and only then would they start to talk to the supplier and try to get the best price they can for each and every part.
“Hence the cost of the vehicle is, as a result, rather late in the project. That may be a good or bad surprise, and that would influence the positioning of the price of the car or the profitability of the company.”
Source: Autocar RSS Feed
